Novel tobacco substitute

ABSTRACT

The invention describes a tobacco substitute composition comprising leaves of coffee plants having no detectable amount of nicotine or nicotine related compounds; the method for the preparation of the said composition and the tobacco-like articles prepare from the said composition. The said composition is useful in the manufacture of smoking products such as cigarettes, cigars and pipe material as well as in the manufacture of chewable tobacco-like products. The said composition may be use without any tobacco at all or in combination with different tobacco amounts, thus providing tobacco products having variable amounts of nicotine and useful in controlling the nicotine contents and in methods to reduce or quitting the use of tobacco products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a composition of matter for the manufacturing of tobacco substitute material. More particularly, the invention relates to a tobacco substitute material with undetectable amounts of nicotine and other nicotine related compounds; such material is made from the leaves of the coffee plants. The instant invention also relates to the method of preparation of the said composition and the preparation of smokable and chewable products from the said tobacco substitute material.

2. Description of Related Art

The following discussion of publications is herein presented for a more completed background and is not to be construed as an admission that such publications are prior art for patentability determination purposes.

Tobacco addiction is one of the major health problems worldwide. Nicotine has been identified as the main addicted substance in tobacco products and it had been related to multiple medical conditions and diseases affecting the tobacco users and in the case of smoking, to non-smokers that are in contact with tobacco smoke. As an alternative, tobacco substitutes made of diverse plant parts had been disclosed in the prior art.

Atchley et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,953,040 discloses tobacco compositions comprising tobacco and mint plant material, useful in chewable or snuff tobacco products. The said compositions are only use in smokeless products and are not described as useful in the preparation of smoking articles such as cigarettes or cigars.

On the other hand, Kim et al, in patent application publication US 2003/0131857 discloses nicotine free cigarette substitutes made of the leaves powder of Smilax china L. and leaf powder of Gomphrena globosa L. The smokable material is prepared by mixing shredded leaves of both plants, being the preferred combination 90 w % of Smilax china L. and 10 w % of Gomphrena Globosa. The said material is only use in the manufacture of cigarettes.

On the other hand, Zho et al, in patent application published US 2004/009170 discloses cigarette substitute comprising the shredded plant leaves of Morus alba L, Synurus deltoids, Berchemia berchemiafolia and Eucomonia ulmoides. The smokable material is prepared by combining different ratios of shredded leaves of each one of the said plants and is said to be used only in the preparation of cigarettes.

Sun, U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,769 discloses a tobacco substitute having reduced contents of nicotine and tar that is prepared from a composition comprising Epimediom koreanum and other plants such as Platycodi radix, Panax ginseng and Persicae semen. While Sun clearly describes the use of leaves of Epimedion koreanum, and presumably, the whole dried plants of Platycodi radix, Panax ginseng and Persicae semen. It is also interesting, that while the dried Epimedion koreanum leaves are used in combination with dried tobacco leaves, while Platycodi radix, Panax ginseng and Persicae semen are dried and pulverized in order to be combined with tobacco leaves, from where cigarettes are subsequently prepared. Sun does not disclose the preparation of nicotine-free tobacco substitute and the material prepared is only described in the preparation of cigarettes.

Similarly, Coy-Herbert, U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,234 discloses a composition for use as a tobacco substitute, such composition comprising Vebascum thapsus, an algae component, a Medicago sativa component and a Symphytum officiale component among other herbal components. The said composition basically comprises natural herbal ingredients. Similarly, Zou et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,169 discloses a cigarette substitute comprising leaves of Ginko biloba L.

On the other hand, Oh et al, US patent application publication 2005/0263165 discloses a tobacco leaf substitute comprising leaves of Morus alba L. and leaves of Lillium longiflorum L. Both leaves types are use after dried and shredded. Oh describes its best composition when having 33 w % of Morus alba L. and 66.6 w % of Lillium longiflorum L. The said compositions are only described in the preparation of cigarettes.

The above cited references require plants that are not cultivated in large scale. Furthermore, the said plants are only found or known in particular countries; but not worldwide. All the cited inventions with exception of Atchley et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,953,040, are disclosed as useful in the elaboration of tobacco containing cigarettes substitutes.

On the other hand, coffee beans had been used in the manufacture of smokable materials. For instance, Deszyck, U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,222 discloses a smoking product derived from coffee bean hulls, after a complex chemical processing the said hulls. The obtained product is then use alone or in combination with tobacco. On the other hand, Bustamente, U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,752 discloses a tobacco substitute made from the whole coffee cherries after partially dehydrating the entire coffee cherry, promptly grinding the entire cherry into particles, and promptly roasting the particles in a conventional manner to form a coffee product. Bustamante's process also requires the hydrating the intermediate and subsequently evaporating the moisture in order to obtain granules or shredded sheets which are used in smokable materials.

Similarly, Beringer et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,594 discloses a homogeneous nicotine-free tobacco substitute consisting, among other ingredients of a filler constituent. The said filler constituent is prepared with one or more of the following materials: wheat chaff, oat chaff, coffee bean shells, coconut shells or cocoa bean shells, among others.

None of the cited references alone or in any combination teaches or suggests the manufacture of tobacco substitute made from the leaves of coffee plants such as Coffea arabica L, Coffea canephora L also known as Robusta, Coffea Liberica L; Coffea Stenophylla L, Coffea excelsa L or any other coffee species.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a tobacco substitute material made from the leaves of coffee plants such as Coffea arabica L, Coffea canephora L also known as Robusta, Coffea Liberica L; Coffea Stenophylla L, Coffea excelsa L or any other coffee species that simulates tobacco and the process of preparing the said material. Leaves of coffee plant are processed in order to provide a tobacco like material having no detectable amount of nicotine. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a nicotine free and tobacco like material. A further object of the invention is to provide tobacco products prepared from coffee plant leaves that while simulates tobacco, are free from nicotine or nicotine related compounds. A further object of the invention is to provide a method to process the leaves of coffee plants into a tobacco like material. Since the said tobacco-like material may be use alone or in combination with any tobacco amount, yet another object of the invention is to provide to the tobacco users tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, smoking pipe material and chewable material having variable amounts of nicotine. Still another object of the invention is a method of controlling or quitting tobacco use by providing tobacco products containing different percent of tobacco and coffee leaves tobacco like material in order decrease the nicotine amount of the tobacco products.

Others objects, advantages and novel features, and further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in the detailed description that follow, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Advantages and objects of the instant invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Applicant has discovered that leaves of coffee plants are excellent material to prepare a tobacco substitute composition. The said composition comprises coffee plant leaves of any coffee variety as the main component. The coffee plants leaves used in the preparation are of any coffee species such as Coffea arabica L, Coffea canephora L also known as Robusta, Coffea Liberica L; Coffea Stenophylla L, Coffea excelsa L or any other coffee species. The coffee plant leaves are processed to provide a material that simulates tobacco. The said composition has the advantage of containing non-detectable amounts of nicotine, and nicotine related compounds such as nornicotine, anabasine anatabine and myosmine, see Tables I and II.

The composition can be use in tobacco-like products without the addition of any tobacco material, conveniently useful in the manufacture of nicotine free tobacco-like products that simulates tobacco such as cigars, cigarettes, smoking pipe material, and chewing tobacco-like substitutes, among other tobacco-like products. The term tobacco-like products is herein use to mean products that simulates products made ordinarily using natural tobacco such as cigarettes, cigars, smoking pipe materials, chewing material, but made without using any natural tobacco or tobacco ingredients or derivatives. The said products are prepared by known means well known and already use in art.

The present composition may also be used in combination with variable amounts of tobacco, producing a tobacco containing material having the desired tobacco percent; in such a way that the tobacco-users may choose products with a given percent of tobacco. The use of the said tobacco products having variable amounts of tobacco offers an alternative to help tobacco users reduce the amount of nicotine in the tobacco products or even quitting their tobacco use habits.

All the said products may also be combined with known tobacco additives and/or flavoring agents used in ordinary processes of tobacco products manufacturing, such as cigarettes, cigars, smoking pipe material or chewing tobacco. Flavoring agents such as anisette, chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, liquor or variable fruit flavors may be added to the tobacco like material prepared from the coffee plant leaves.

The main component of the composition is prepared by harvesting leaves of coffee plants. The leaves may be of any stage of the growing process, preferably at adult or mature one. Once harvested, they are washed with fresh water. After washing, the leaves are boiled in a suitable solution for a period of 15 minutes to an hour, preferably 25 to 35 minutes and more preferably for 30 minutes. As a suitable solution may be used black fresh brewed decaffeinated or caffeinated coffee; or a solution containing flavoring agents such as anisette, chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, liquor or fruit flavor, or mixtures thereof, among others. After boiling, the leaves are filtered out of the solution and allowed to dry until they contain a relative humidity of 5 to 20% or preferably 12 to 14 percent. Once the leaves are dried to the said point of humidity, they are shredded it in suitable sizes, depending upon the type of tobacco-like product wanted to be prepared from them in such a way that the composition simulates the substituted tobacco product such as cigarettes, cigars, smoking pipe material or chewable material. The said products are prepared by well known and conventional means and used in the tobacco industry.

Alternatively, the shredded material once prepared may be combined with natural tobacco different wt % in order to obtain tobacco products with the desired tobacco percent.

Tobacco products prepared using the composition described herein are manufactured by means of ordinary process for producing the same. The said products may or may not contain ordinary additives known to be used in the preparation of tobacco articles such as cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and the like.

¹TABLE I Coffee Leaf Nicotine Contents Analysis Client Arista Nicotine Code Code (mg/g) Coffee Leaf 5690 <LOQ Coffee Leaf 5690 <LOQ Coffee Leaf 5690 <LOQ Average <LOQ SD NA % RSD NA 2R4F 912 16.4 2R4F 912 17.8 2R4F 912 18.1 Average 17.4 SD 0.9 % RSD 5.4 Limit of Quantitation (LOQ): 0.376

¹TABLE II Coffee Leaf Nicotine Related Alkaloids Content Analysis. Client Arista Nornicotine Anabasine Anatabine Myosmine Code Code (μg/cig.) (μg/cig.) (μg/cig.) (μg/cig.) Coffee Leaf 5690 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ Coffee Leaf 5690 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ Coffee Leaf 5690 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ Average <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ SD — — — — % RSD — — — — 2R4F 912 621 73.6 467 5.26 2R4F 912 518 68.4 378 5.62 2R4F 912 646 91.9 605 5.42 Average 595 77.9 483 5.44 SD 68 12.3 115 0.18 % RSD 11.4 15.8 23.7 3.3 Limit of Quantitation 9.6 13.7 4.4 4.5 (LOQ): ¹Chemical Analysis performed in Arista Laboratories, Inc. 1941 Reymet Road, Richmond, VA 23237

The following examples illustrate methods for carrying out the invention and should understood to be illustrative of, but not limiting upon, the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims.

EXAMPLE 1

Coffee leaves were harvested, washed with fresh water and boiled in freshly black brewed coffee for 30 minutes. The leaves were then filtered and allowed to dry until their percent of relative humidity was from 12 to 14%. After drying, the leaves were shredded in different sizes depending of the tobacco-like product desired to be prepare from the shredded material.

EXAMPLE 2

The same process described in Example 1, but wherein the boiling step is done substituting the fresh brewed coffee by hot chocolate.

EXAMPLE 3

The same process described in Example 1, but wherein the boiling step is done substituting the fresh brewed coffee by aqueous vanilla extract as the flavoring agent.

EXAMPLE 4

The same process described in Example 1, but wherein the boiling step is done substituting the fresh brewed coffee by aqueous cinnamon extracts.

A wide variety of objects, alternatives, and novel features suggesting by the teachings herein result apparent to those skilled in the art and can be practiced without departing from the spirit of the invention and rights to those alternatives or modifications are particularly reserved, especially those which fall within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A composition for use as a tobacco substitute comprising leaves of coffee plants.
 2. The tobacco substitute composition of claim 1 is a non-containing tobacco.
 3. The tobacco substitute composition of claim 1 containing tobacco.
 4. A smoking product comprising the compositions of claim
 1. 5. A smoking product comprising the compositions of claim
 2. 6. A smoking product comprising the compositions of claim
 3. 7. The smoking product of claim 4, wherein the smoking product is a cigarette.
 8. The smoking product of claim 4, wherein the smoking product is selected from cigar or a smoking pipe material.
 9. The smoking product of claim 5, wherein the smoking product is selected from cigar or smoking pipe material.
 10. The smoking product of claim 5, wherein the smoking product is a cigarette.
 11. The smoking product of claim 6, wherein the smoking product is selected from cigar or smoking pipe material.
 12. The smoking product of claim 6, wherein the smoking product is a cigarette.
 13. A chewable tobacco product comprising the composition of claim
 1. 14. A chewable tobacco product comprising the composition of claim
 2. 15. A chewable tobacco product comprising the composition of claim
 3. 16. A process for the preparation of the composition of claim 1 comprising the steps of: a) harvesting the leaves of coffee plant; b) washing the said leaves with water; c) boiling the said leaves at a suitable solution for a 15 to 60 minutes; d) separating the leaves from the said suitable solution after boiling e) drying the said leaves until the said leaves retain a suitable percent of relative humidity and; f) shredding the said leaves to a suitable size.
 18. The process of claim 17, wherein the said boiling step (c) is done with brewed black coffee, chocolate or aqueous flavoring agents.
 19. The process of claim 15, further comprising the addition of variable quantity of tobacco to the shredding leaves obtained after the step (f). 